Display device and method for providing haptic feedback by display device

ABSTRACT

A display device includes a display panel, a touch sensing layer which is disposed on a first surface of the display panel and senses a touch input of a user, a first vibration device which is disposed on a second surface of the display panel and generates vibration according to driving voltages. The first vibration device generates a first vibration in response to a first touch input of the user to provide a first haptic feedback.

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2019-0012270, filed on Jan. 30, 2019, and No. 10-2019-0067534, filedon Jun. 7, 2019, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C.§ 119, the content of which in their entirety is herein incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a display device and amethod for providing a haptic feedback.

2. Description of the Related Art

As an information-oriented society evolves, various demands for displaydevices are ever increasing. The display devices are being employed by avariety of electronic devices such as smart phones, digital cameras,laptop computers, navigation devices, and smart televisions.

The display devices may provide a haptic feedback to deliver tactilefeedback to users. Display devices may include a vibration device toprovide a haptic feedback.

SUMMARY

Since there is a vibration remaining after a display device provides ahaptic feedback, a tactile quality felt by a user may deteriorate.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention provide a display device capableof improving a tactile quality felt by a user when a haptic feedback isprovided.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention also provide a method forproviding a haptic feedback by which a tactile quality felt by a userwhen a haptic feedback is provided may be improved.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention provides a display deviceincluding a display panel, a touch sensing layer which senses a touchinput of a user, and a first vibration device which is disposed on afirst surface of the display panel and generates vibration according todriving voltages. The first vibration device generates a first vibrationin response to a first touch input of the user to provide a first hapticfeedback.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first vibration device may generate asecond vibration in response to a second touch input of the user toprovide a second haptic feedback. The first vibration may be differentfrom the second vibration.

In an exemplary embodiment, a first frequency of the first vibration maybe different from a second frequency of the second vibration.

In an exemplary embodiment, a first amplitude of the first vibration maybe different from a second amplitude of the second vibration.

In an exemplary embodiment, a first period of the first vibration may bedifferent from a second period of the second vibration.

In an exemplary embodiment, when the second touch input is a multi-touchinput, a second frequency of the second vibration may be higher than afirst frequency of the first vibration, and a second amplitude of thesecond vibration may be greater than a first amplitude of the firstvibration.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first vibration device may generate athird vibration in response to a third touch input of the user toprovide a third haptic feedback. The third vibration may be differentfrom the first vibration and the second vibration.

In an exemplary embodiment, when the second touch input includes twotouch inputs and the third touch input includes three touch inputs, athird frequency of the third vibration may be higher than the secondfrequency of the second vibration, and a third amplitude of the thirdvibration may be greater than the second amplitude of the secondvibration.

In an exemplary embodiment, an amplitude of the first vibration may beincreased N times. N is a positive integer.

In an exemplary embodiment, an amplitude of the first vibration may beincreased N times and decreased M times. N and M are positive integers.

In an exemplary embodiment, N may be equal to M.

In an exemplary embodiment, an amplitude of the first vibration may bedecreased M times. M is a positive integer.

In an exemplary embodiment, each of the driving voltages may be a squarewave.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first vibration device may include afirst electrode to which a first driving voltage of the driving voltagesis applied, a second electrode to which a second driving voltage of thedriving voltages is applied, and a vibration layer between the firstelectrode and the second electrode and including a piezoelectricmaterial that contracts or expands according to the first drivingvoltage applied to the first electrode and the second driving voltageapplied to the second electrode.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention provides a display deviceincluding a display panel, a touch sensing layer which senses a touchinput of a user, a first vibration device which is disposed on a firstsurface of the display panel and generates vibration according todriving voltages, and a second vibration device which is disposed on thefirst surface of the display panel and generates vibration according tothe driving voltages. The first vibration device is closer to a firstside of the display panel than the second vibration device is, and thesecond vibration device is closer to a second side of the display panelthan the first vibration device is, and at least one of the firstvibration device and the second vibration device generates vibration inresponse to the touch input to provide a first haptic feedback.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first vibration device may generate thevibration when the touch input is closer to the first vibration devicethan the second vibration device, and the second vibration device maygenerate the vibration when the touch input is closer to the secondvibration device than the first vibration device.

In an exemplary embodiment, a mono sound may be output by the vibrationof the first vibration device and the vibration of the second vibrationdevice in a mono sound mode, and a first stereo sound may be output bythe vibration of the first vibration device, and a second stereo soundmay be output by the vibration of the second vibration device in astereo sound mode.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention provides a method for providinga haptic feedback by a display device, and the method includesgenerating a first vibration, by a first vibration device disposed on afirst surface of a display panel, in response to a first touch input ofa user sensed by a touch sensing layer, and generating a secondvibration, by the first vibration device, in response to a second touchinput of the user, where the first vibration is different from thesecond vibration.

In an exemplary embodiment, a first frequency of the first vibration maybe different from a second frequency of the second vibration.

In an exemplary embodiment, a first amplitude of the first vibration maybe different from a second amplitude of the second vibration.

In an exemplary embodiment, a first period of the first vibration may bedifferent from a second period of the second vibration.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, when a vibration device isa piezoelectric element or a piezoelectric actuator including apiezoelectric material, it includes no voice coil. Accordingly, comparedwith a linear resonant actuator that vibrates using a voice coil, thereis an advantage that almost no vibration remains after the applicationof the first and second driving voltages is finished. Therefore, it ispossible to improve the quality of a tactile feedback for a user in thehaptic feedback.

In an exemplary embodiment, a display device and a method for providinga haptic feedback by a display device may provide a user with differenthaptic feedbacks according to the user's touch input in the application,thereby increasing the user's immersion into the application.

In an exemplary embodiment, a display device and a method for providinga haptic feedback by a display device may further improve the tactilequality felt by a user by way of providing a haptic feedback by avibration device adjacent to the user's touch coordinates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other exemplary embodiments and features of the inventionwill become more apparent by describing in detail embodiments thereofwith reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a displaydevice according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of adisplay device according to the invention;

FIG. 3A is a bottom view showing an exemplary embodiment of the displaypanel attached to the cover window of FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is an enlargedview of a portion of the display panel of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing an exemplary embodiment of the bracketattached under the display panel of FIG. 3A and the main circuit boarddisposed on the bracket;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the display area of the displaypanel of FIG. 5 in detail;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the first vibration device ofFIG. 5 in detail;

FIG. 8 is a view showing an exemplary embodiment of a way of vibrating avibration layer disposed between a first branch electrode and a secondbranch electrode of the first vibration device of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention;

FIG. 10 is a view showing an exemplary embodiment of a screen of adisplay device where an application for providing the haptic feedback ofFIG. 9 is running;

FIG. 11 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention;

FIG. 12 is a view showing an exemplary embodiment of a screen of thedisplay device where the application for providing the haptic feedbackof FIG. 11 is executed;

FIG. 13 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention;

FIG. 14 is a view showing an exemplary embodiment of a screen of thedisplay device where the application for providing the haptic feedbackof FIG. 13 is executed;

FIG. 15 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention;

FIG. 16 is a view showing an exemplary embodiment of a screen of adisplay device where an application for providing the haptic feedback ofFIG. 15 is running;

FIG. 17 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention;

FIG. 18 is a view showing an exemplary embodiment of a screen of adisplay device where an application for providing the haptic feedback ofFIG. 17 is running;

FIG. 19 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention;

FIG. 20 is a view showing an exemplary embodiment of a screen of adisplay device where an application for providing the haptic feedback ofFIG. 19 is running;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for illustrating an exemplary embodiment of ahaptic mode and a sound mode of a display device according to theinvention;

FIG. 22 is a bottom view showing an exemplary embodiment of the displaypanel attached to the cover window of FIG. 2;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a display device showing an exemplaryembodiment of a multi-haptic feedback;

FIG. 24 is a flowchart for illustrating an exemplary embodiment of ahaptic mode of a display device according to the invention;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart for illustrating an exemplary embodiment of asound mode of a display device according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodimentsof the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied indifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplaryembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fillyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The samereference numbers indicate the same components throughout thespecification. In the attached drawing figures, the thickness of layersand regions is exaggerated for clarity.

It will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,”“third” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements,components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components,regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms.These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region,layer or section from another element, component, region, layer orsection. Thus, “a first element,” “component,” “region,” “layer” or“section” discussed below could be termed a second element, component,region, layer or section without departing from the teachings herein.

It will also be understood that when a layer is referred to as being“on” another layer or substrate, it can be directly on the other layeror substrate, or intervening layers may also be present. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element,there are no intervening elements present.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms, including “at least one,” unless the content clearly indicatesotherwise. “Or” means “and/or.” “At least one of A and B” means “Aand/or B.” As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will befurther understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” or“includes” and/or “including” when used in this specification, specifythe presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

“About” or “approximately” as used herein is inclusive of the statedvalue and means within an acceptable range of deviation for theparticular value as determined by one of ordinary skill in the art,considering the measurement in question and the error associated withmeasurement of the particular quantity (i.e., the limitations of themeasurement system).

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It willbe further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and thedisclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formalsense unless expressly so defined herein.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a displaydevice according to the invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspectiveview of an exemplary embodiment of a display device according to theinvention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a display device 10 in an exemplaryembodiment of the invention includes a cover window 100, a display panel300, a display circuit board 310, a display driving circuit 320, aflexible film 390, a vibration device 510, a bracket 600, a main circuitboard 700, and a bottom cover 900.

As used herein, the term “upper side” refers to the side of the displaypanel 300 in the Z-axis direction where the cover window 100 isdisposed, whereas the term “lower side” refers to the opposite side ofthe display panel 300 in the Z-axis direction where the bracket 600 isdisposed. As used herein, the terms “left,” “right,” “upper” and “lower”sides indicate relative positions when the display panel 300 is viewedfrom the top. The “left side” refers to the opposite direction indicatedby the arrow of the x-axis, the “right side” refers to the directionindicated by the arrow of the x-axis, the “upper side” refers to thedirection indicated by the arrow of the z-axis, and the “lower side”refers to the opposite direction indicated by the arrow of the z-axis,for example.

The display device 10 may have a rectangular shape from the top. Thedisplay device 10 may have a rectangular shape including shorter sidesin a first direction (X-axis direction) and longer sides in a seconddirection (Y-axis direction) from the top as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, forexample. Each of the corners where the short side in the first direction(X-axis direction) meets the longer side in the second direction (Y-axisdirection) may be rounded with a predetermined curvature or may be aright angle. The shape of the display device 10 from the top is notlimited to a rectangular shape, but may be provided in another polygonalshape, circular shape, or elliptical shape.

The display device 10 may include a first region DR1 which is providedflat, and a second region DR2 extended from the right and left sides ofthe first region DR1. The second region DR2 may be provided flat or maybe curved. When the second region DR2 is provided flat, the angleprovided by the first region DR1 and the second region DR2 may be anobtuse angle. When the second region DR2 is provided as a curvedsurface, it may have a constant curvature or a varying curvature.

Although the second areas DR2 are extended from the left and right sidesof the first region DR1 in FIG. 1, this is merely illustrative. That isto say, the second region DR2 may be extended from only one of the rightand left sides of the first region DR1. In an alternative exemplaryembodiment, the second region DR2 may be extended from at least one ofupper and lower sides of the first region DR1, as well as the left andright sides. In the following description, the second areas DR2 aredisposed at the left and right edges of the display device 10,respectively.

The cover window 100 may be disposed on the display panel 300 to coverthe upper surface of the display panel 300. Thus, the cover window 100may protect the upper surface of the display panel 300.

The cover window 100 may include a transmissive portion DA100corresponding to the display panel 300 and a non-transmissive portionNDA100 corresponding to the other area than the display panel 300. Thecover window 100 may be disposed in the first region DR1 and the secondregions DR2. The transmissive portion DA100 may be disposed in a part ofthe first region DR1 and a part of each of the second regions DR2. Thenon-transmissive portion NDA 100 may be opaque. In an alternativeexemplary embodiment, the non-transmissive portion NDA 100 may beprovided as a decoration layer having a pattern that may be displayed tothe user when no image is displayed.

The display panel 300 may be disposed under the cover window 100. Thedisplay panel 300 may be disposed such that it overlaps with thetransmissive portion 100DA of the cover window 100. The display panel300 may be disposed in the first region DR1 and the second areas DR2.Therefore, the image on the display panel 300 may be seen not only inthe first region DR1 but also in the second areas DR2.

The display panel 300 may be a light-emitting display panel including alight-emitting element. In an exemplary embodiment, the display panel300 may be an organic light-emitting display panel using organiclight-emitting diodes (“LEDs”) including organic emissive layer, a microLED display panel using micro LEDs, a quantum-dot light-emitting displaypanel including quantum-dot LEDs including an quantum-dot emissivelayer, or an inorganic light-emitting display panel using inorganiclight-emitting elements including an inorganic semiconductor, forexample. In the following description, an organic light-emitting displaypanel is employed as the display panel 300.

The display circuit board 310 and the display driving circuit 320 may beattached to one side of the display panel 300. One side of the displaycircuit board 310 may be attached to pads disposed on one side of thedisplay panel 300 using an anisotropic conductive film. In an exemplaryembodiment, the display circuit board 310 may be a flexible printedcircuit board (“FPCB”) that may be bent, a rigid printed circuit board(“PCB”) that is rigid and not bendable, or a hybrid printed circuitboard including a rigid printed circuit board and an FPCB.

The display driving circuit 320 receives control signals and supplyvoltages through the display circuit board 310 and outputs signals andvoltages for driving the display panel 300. In an exemplary embodiment,the display driving circuit 320 may be provided as, but is not limitedto, an integrated circuit (“IC”) and may be attached to the displaycircuit board 310. In an exemplary embodiment, the display drivingcircuit 320 may be attached to the display panel 300 by a chip on glass(“COG”) technique, a chip on plastic (“COP”) technique, or an ultrasonicbonding, for example.

A touch driver 330 and a vibration driver 340 may be disposed on thedisplay circuit board 310. The touch driver 330 and the vibration driver340 may be implemented as ICs.

The touch driver 330 may be attached to the upper surface of the displaycircuit board 310. The touch driver 330 may be electrically connected tosensor electrodes of a touch sensing layer of the display panel 300through the display circuit board 310. In the mutual capacitance sensingmethod, the touch driver 330 may apply touch driving signals to thedriving electrodes among the sensor electrodes and may sense changes inthe charged amount of the capacitances between the driving electrodesand the sensing electrodes through the sensing electrodes among thesensor electrodes, to thereby determine whether a user made a touch orproximity touch. A user's touch refers to that an object such as theuser's finger or a pen is brought into contact with a surface of thedisplay device 10 disposed on the touch sensing layer. The user'sproximity touch refers to that an object such as the user's finger or apen is hovering over a surface of the display device 10. The touchdriver 330 may output touch data including user's touch coordinates tothe main processor 710.

The vibration driver 340 may be attached to the upper surface of thedisplay circuit board 310. The vibration driver 340 receives vibrationdata or sound data from the main circuit board 700. The vibration driver340 generates first and second driving voltages according to thevibration data or the sound data and outputs the first and seconddriving voltages to the first vibration device 510. The vibration driver340 may be implemented as an IC.

The first and second driving voltages applied thereto may be a sine waveor a square wave. When the first and second driving voltages appliedthereto are square waves, even when different haptic feedbacks arecontinuously implemented using the first vibration device 510, the usermay receive the different haptic feedbacks clearly.

On the display circuit board 310, a power supply for supplying displaydriving voltages for driving the display driving circuit 320 may bedisposed. When the display driving voltages and the first and seconddriving voltages are generated in a single circuit, they may beinfluenced by each other. For this reason, the display driving voltagesfor driving the display panel 300 and the first and second drivingvoltages for driving the first vibration device 510 may be generated indifferent circuits. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the displaydriving voltages and the first and second driving voltages from beinginfluenced by with each other.

One side of the flexible film 390 may be attached on the upper surfaceof the lower part of the display panel 300 using an anisotropicconductive film. The other side of the flexible film 390 may be attachedon the upper surface of the upper part of the display circuit board 310using an anisotropic conductive film. The flexible film 390 may be aflexible film that may be bent.

In another exemplary embodiment, the flexible film 390 may be eliminatedand the display circuit board 310 may be attached directly to one sideof the display panel 300. In such case, one side of the display panel300 may be bent downward such that it is disposed under the displaypanel 300.

The first vibration device 510 may be disposed on the surface of thedisplay panel 300. The first vibration device 510 may be attached to thesurface of the display panel 300 using an adhesive member 610 such as apressure-sensitive adhesive, as shown in FIG. 5. When a cover panelmember 400 is disposed on the surface of the display panel 300 as shownin FIG. 5, the first vibration device 510 may be attached to the coverpanel member 400 through the adhesive member 610. The first vibrationdevice 510 may be a piezoelectric element or a piezoelectric actuatorincluding a piezoelectric material that contracts or expands accordingto a voltage applied thereto. Although the first vibration device 510has a cuboid shape in FIG. 2, the invention is not limited thereto.

The bracket 600 may be disposed under the display panel 300. The bracket600 may include plastic, metal, or both plastic and metal. In thebracket 600, a first camera hole CMH1 in which a camera device 720 isinserted, a battery hole BH in which a battery 790 is disposed, and acable hole CAH through which a cable 314 connected to the displaycircuit board 310 passes are defined.

The main circuit board 700 and the battery 790 may be disposed under thebracket 600. The main circuit board 700 may be either a printed circuitboard or an FPCB.

The main circuit board 700 may include a main processor 710, a cameradevice 720, a main connector 730 and a memory 740. The main processor710 may be implemented as an IC.

The camera device 720 may be disposed on both the upper and lowersurfaces of the main circuit board 700, the main processor 710 and thememory 740 are disposed on the upper surface of the main circuit board700, and the main connector 730 may be disposed on the lower surface ofthe main circuit board 700.

The main processor 710 may control all the functions of the displaydevice 10. In an exemplary embodiment, the main processor 710 may outputdigital video data to the display driving circuit 320 through thedisplay circuit board 310 so that the display panel 300 displays images,for example. In addition, the main processor 710 may receive touch dataincluding a user's touch coordinates from the touch driver 330 and maydetermine whether there is the user's touch or a proximity touch, andwhen there is the user's touch or a proximity touch, then may perform anoperation associated with the user's touch input or the proximity touch.In an exemplary embodiment, the main processor 710 may perform anapplication or an operation indicated by the icon touched by the user,for example.

The main processor 710 may control the first vibration device 510according to a haptic mode and a sound mode. The main processor 710 mayoutput operation information to the memory 740 which is to be executedby a user's touch input or proximity input and may receive vibrationdata associated with the operation information from the memory 740 inthe haptic mode. The main processor 710 may output the vibration data tothe vibration driver 340 in the haptic mode.

The main processor 710 receives sound source data from an externaldevice in the sound mode. The main processor 710 may generate sound datafor generating first and second driving voltages to drive the vibrationdevice 510 based on the sound source data in the sound mode. In analternative exemplary embodiment, the main processor 710 may output thefrequency information of the sound source data in the sound mode to thememory 740, and may receive the sound data corresponding to thefrequency information of the sound source data from the memory 740. Themain processor 710 may output sound data to the vibration driver 340 inthe sound mode.

The main processor 710 may control the first vibration device 510 sothat the sound mode and the haptic mode are executed simultaneously. Insuch case, the main processor 710 may output the sum of the sound dataand the vibration data to the vibration driver 340.

In an exemplary embodiment, the main processor 710 may be an applicationprocessor, a central processing unit, or a system chip implemented as anIC.

The camera device 720 processes image frames such as still image andvideo obtained by the image sensor in the camera mode and outputs themto the main processor 710.

The cable 314 passing through the cable hole CAH of the bracket 60 maybe connected to main connector 730. Accordingly, the main circuit board700 may be electrically connected to the display circuit board 310.

The memory 740 may store therein vibration data according to operationinformation executed by the user's touch input or proximity input. Thememory 740 may be a look-up table (“LUT”) for outputting vibration datawith the operation information as an input address. In addition, thememory 740 may store therein sound data according to frequencyinformation of the sound source data. The memory 740 may be an LUT foroutputting sound data with the frequency information as an inputaddress.

The battery 790 may not overlap the main circuit board 700 in the thirddirection (Z-axis direction). The battery 790 may overlap with thebattery hole BH of the bracket 600.

Besides, a mobile communications module capable oftransmitting/receiving a radio signal to/from at least one of a basestation, an external terminal and a server over a mobile communicationsnetwork may be further disposed (e.g., mounted) on the main circuitboard 700. In an exemplary embodiment, the wireless signal may includevarious types of data depending on a voice signal, a video call signal,or a text/multimedia message transmission/reception.

The bottom cover 900 may be disposed under the main circuit board 700and the battery 790. The bottom cover 900 may be fastened and fixed tothe bracket 600. The bottom cover 900 may form the exterior of the lowersurface of the display device 10. In an exemplary embodiment, the bottomcover 900 may include plastic, metal or plastic and metal, for example.

A second camera hole CMH2 may be defined in the bottom cover 900 viawhich the lower surface of the camera device 720 is exposed. Thepositions of the camera device 720 and the first and second camera holesCMH1 and CMH2 in line with the camera device 720 are not limited tothose of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3A is a bottom view showing an exemplary embodiment of the displaypanel attached to the cover window of FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is an enlargedview of a portion of the display panel of FIG. 3A. FIG. 4 is a bottomview showing an exemplary embodiment of the bracket attached under thedisplay panel of FIG. 3 and the main circuit board disposed on thebracket. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG.4.

Referring to FIGS. 3A to 5, the cover panel member 400 may be disposedunder the display panel 300. The cover panel member 400 may be attachedto the lower surface of the display panel 300 by an adhesive member. Inan exemplary embodiment, the adhesive member may be a pressure-sensitiveadhesive (“PSA”), for example.

The cover panel member 400 may include at least one of a light-absorbingmember for absorbing light incident from outside, a buffer member forabsorbing external impact, and a heat-dissipating member for efficientlydischarging heat from the display panel 300.

The light-absorbing member may be disposed under the display panel 300.The light-absorbing member blocks the transmission of light to preventthe elements disposed thereunder from being seen from above the displaypanel 300, such as the display circuit board 310 and the vibrationdevice 510. The light-absorbing member may include a light-absorbingmaterial such as a black pigment and a dye.

The buffer member may be disposed under the light-absorbing member. Thebuffer member absorbs an external impact to prevent the display panel300 from being damaged. The buffer member may include a single layer ormultiple layers. In an exemplary embodiment, the buffer member mayinclude a polymer resin such as polyurethane, polycarbonate,polypropylene and polyethylene, or may include a material havingelasticity such as a rubber and a sponge obtained by foaming aurethane-based material or an acrylic-based material. The buffer membermay be a cushion layer.

The heat-dissipating member may be disposed under the buffer member. Theheat-dissipating member may include a first heat-dissipating layerincluding graphite or carbon nanotubes, and a second heat dissipationlayer including a thin metal film such as copper, nickel, ferrite andsilver, which may block electromagnetic waves and have high thermalconductivity.

In another exemplary embodiment, the cover panel member 400 may beeliminated. Then, the elements disposed on the lower surface of thecover panel member 400, e.g., the display circuit board 310 and thevibration device 510 may be disposed on the lower surface of the displaypanel 300 instead of the lower surface of the cover panel member 400.

The flexible film 390 attached to the side of the display panel 300 maybe bent and disposed under the cover panel member 400 as shown in FIGS.4 and 5. Therefore, the display circuit board 310 attached to the sideof the flexible film 390 may be disposed under the cover panel member400. The display circuit board 310 may be fixed or bonded to the lowersurface of the cover panel member 400 by a fixing member such as a screwor an adhesive member such as a PSA under the cover panel member 400.

The display circuit board 310 may include a first circuit board 311 anda second circuit board 312. Each of the first display circuit board 310and the second circuit board 312 may be a rigid printed circuit board oran FPCB. When one of the first circuit board 311 and the second circuitboard is a rigid printed circuit board and the other is an FPCB, thedisplay circuit board 310 may be a hybrid printed circuit board.

In example shown in FIG. 4, the second circuit board 312 is extendedfrom one side of the first circuit board 311 in the second direction(Y-axis direction). The width of the second circuit board 312 in thefirst direction (X-axis direction) may be smaller than the width of thefirst circuit board 311 in the first direction (X-axis direction).

The touch driver 330 and the vibration driver 340 may be disposed on thesurface of the second circuit board 312, while a first connector 313 anda second connector 316 may be disposed on the other surface of thesecond circuit board 312. The first connector 313 may include aninsertion portion connected to a first connection terminal provided atone end of the cable 314. The second connector 316 may include aninsertion portion connected to a connection terminal disposed at one endof the first flexible circuit board 570.

The first connection terminal provided at one end of the cable 314 maybe inserted into the insertion portion of the first connector 313. Thesecond connection terminal provided at the other end of the cable 314may be bent below the main circuit board 700 through the cable hole CAHpenetrating the bracket 600, to be inserted into the main connector 730as shown in FIG. 4.

The first vibration device 510 may be disposed on the lower surface ofthe cover panel member 400. The first vibration device 510 may beattached to the lower surface of the cover panel member 400 by a firstadhesive member 610 such as a pressure-sensitive adhesive. Accordingly,the display panel 300 may vibrate in the thickness direction (Z-axisdirection) by the first vibration device 510.

The connection terminal provided at one end of the first flexiblecircuit board 570 may be inserted into the insertion portion of thesecond connector 316. The other end of the first flexible circuit board570 may be connected to the first vibration device 510. In an exemplaryembodiment, the first flexible circuit board 570 may be an FPCB or anFPC, for example.

The battery hole BH, the cable hole CAH and the first camera hole CMH1may be defined in the bracket 600. The battery hole BH, the cable holeCAH and the first camera hole CMH1 may penetrate through the bracket600.

Since the battery hole BH accommodates the battery, the battery 790 mayoverlap the battery hole BH in the third direction (Z-axis direction) asshown in FIG. 5. The size of the battery hole BH may be larger than thesize of the battery 790 as shown in FIG. 5.

The first camera hole CMH1 of the bracket 600 is a hole foraccommodating the camera device 720 of the main circuit board 700 sothat the camera device 720 may overlap the first camera hole CMH1 in thethird direction (Z-axis direction).

In the exemplary embodiments shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 4, the firstvibration device 510 may be electrically connected to the displaycircuit board 310 through the first flexible circuit board 570. The maincircuit board 700 and the display circuit board 310 may be electricallyconnected to each other through the cable 314.

Referring to FIG. 5, the display panel 300 may include a substrate SUB1,a pixel array layer PAL, and a polarizing film PF.

The substrate SUB1 may be a rigid substrate or a flexible substrate thatmay be bent, folded, rolled, and so on. The substrate SUB1 may includean insulating material such as glass, quartz and a polymer resin. Theexamples of the polymer material may be polyethersulphone (“PES”),polyacrylate (“PA”), polyacrylate (“PAR”), polyetherimide (“PEI”),polyethylenenapthalate (“PEN”), polyethyleneterepthalate (“PET”),polyphenylenesulfide (“PPS”), polyallylate, polyimide (“PI”),polycarbonate (“PC”), cellulosetriacetate (“CAT”), cellulose acetatepropionate (“CAP”), or combinations thereof. The substrate SUB1 mayinclude a metal material.

The pixel array layer PAL may be disposed on the substrate SUB1. Thepixel array layer PAL may include pixels PX to display an image. Thepixel array layer PAL may include a thin-film transistor (“TFT”) layer303, a light-emitting element layer 304 and a thin-film encapsulationlayer 305 as shown in FIG. 6.

The touch sensing layer TSL may be disposed on the pixel array layerPAL. The touch sensing layer TSL may include sensor electrodes TE todetect at least one user's touch input.

The polarizing film PF may be disposed on the touch sensing layer TSL inorder to prevent a decrease in visibility due to reflection of externallight. In an exemplary embodiment, the polarizing film PF may include alinear polarizer and a retardation film such as a λ/4 (quarter-wave)plate, for example. In an exemplary embodiment, the retardation film maybe disposed on the touch sensing layer TSL, and the linear polarizer maybe disposed between the retardation film and the cover window 100, forexample.

The cover panel member 400 may be disposed on a first surface of thedisplay panel 300, and the cover window 100 may be disposed on a secondsurface of the display panel 300 opposite to the first surface. That isto say, the cover panel member 400 may be disposed on the lower surfaceof the substrate SUB1 of the display panel 300, and the cover window 100may be disposed on the upper surface of the polarizing film PF.

One side of the flexible film 390 may be attached to one side of thesubstrate SUB1, while the other side of the flexible film 390 may beattached to one side of the display circuit board 310. One side of theflexible film 390 may be attached to one side of the substrate SUB1using an anisotropic conductive film. The other side of the flexiblefilm 390 may be attached to one surface of the display circuit board 310using an anisotropic conductive film. The opposite surface of thedisplay circuit board 310 may face the cover panel member 400.

Although the display driving circuit 320 is disposed on the surface ofthe flexible film 390 in FIG. 5, the invention is not limited thereto.The display driving circuit 320 may be disposed on the opposite surfaceof the flexible film 390. The other surface of the flexible film 390 maybe attached to one surface of the substrate SUB1 and one surface of thedisplay circuit board 310.

The display circuit board 310 may be disposed on the lower surface ofthe cover panel member 400. The display circuit board 310 may be fixedto the lower surface of the cover panel member 400 by a fixing membersuch as a screw or an adhesive member.

The touch driver 330 and the vibration driver 340 may be disposed on oneside of the display circuit board 310. The first connector 313 and thesecond connector 316 may be disposed on the other surface of the displaycircuit board 310.

The first vibration device 510 may be disposed between the panel lowermember 400 and the bracket 600. A first surface of the first vibrationdevice 510 may be attached to the cover panel member 400 by a firstadhesive member 610. Since the first vibration device 510 may be fixedto the cover panel member 400, the display panel 300 may be vibrated bythe vibration of the first vibration device 510. That is to say, thefirst vibration device 510 may vibrate the display panel 300 to output afirst sound. The first adhesive member 610 may be a pressure-sensitiveadhesive. The first flexible circuit board 570 may be attached to thesecond surface of the first vibration device 510.

If the first vibration device 510 is disposed on the heat-dissipatingmember of the cover panel member 400, the first heat-dissipating layerof the heat-dissipating member may be broken by the vibration of thefirst vibration device 510. Therefore, a part of the heat-dissipatingmember may be eliminated so that it does not overlap with the firstvibration device 510, and the first vibration device 510 may be attachedto the lower surface of the buffer member. In an alternative exemplaryembodiment, a part of the buffer member and the heat-dissipating membermay be eliminated so that they do not overlap with the first vibrationdevice 510, and the first vibration device 510 may be attached to thelower surface of the light-absorbing member.

The first flexible circuit board 570 may be attached to the secondsurface of the first vibration device 510 using an anisotropicconductive film. The lead lines of the first flexible circuit board 570may be connected to the first electrode and the second electrode of thefirst vibration device 510, respectively. A connection terminal providedat one end of the first flexible circuit board 570 may be connected tothe lead lines. The connection terminal of the first flexible circuitboard 570 may be inserted into the insertion portion of the secondconnector 316. The first flexible circuit board 570 may be an FPC or aflexible film.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the display area of the displaypanel of FIG. 5 in detail.

Referring to FIG. 6, the display panel 300 may include the substrateSUB1 and the pixel array layer PAL. The pixel array layer PAL mayinclude a TFT layer 303, a light-emitting element layer 304 and athin-film encapsulation layer 305 as shown in FIG. 6.

A buffer layer 302 may be disposed on the substrate SUB1. The bufferlayer 302 may be disposed on the substrate SUB1 to protect the TFTs 335and the light-emitting elements from moisture permeating through thesubstrate SUB1 that is susceptible to moisture permeation. The bufferlayer 302 may include a plurality of inorganic layers stacked on oneanother alternately. In an exemplary embodiment, the buffer layer 302may include multiple layers in which one or more inorganic layer of asilicon oxide layer (SiOx), a silicon nitride layer (SiNx) and SiON arestacked on one another alternately, for example. In another exemplaryembodiment, the buffer layer may be eliminated.

The TFT layer 303 is disposed on the buffer layer 302. The TFT layer 303includes TFTs 335, a gate insulating layer 336, an interlayer dielectriclayer 337, a protective layer 338, and a planarization layer 339.

Each of the TFTs 335 includes an active layer 331, a gate electrode 332,a source electrode 333 and a drain electrode 334. In FIG. 6, the TFTs335 are implemented as top-gate transistors in which the gate electrode332 is disposed above the active layer 331. It is, however, to beunderstood that the invention is not limited thereto. That is to say,the TFTs 335 may be implemented as bottom-gate transistors in which thegate electrode 332 is disposed below the active layer 331, or asdouble-gate transistors in which the gate electrodes 332 are disposedabove and below the active layer 331.

The active layer 331 is disposed on the buffer layer 302. The activelayer 331 may include a silicon-based semiconductor material or anoxide-based semiconductor material. In an exemplary embodiment, theactive layer 331 may include polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon,or an oxide semiconductor, for example. A light-blocking layer forblocking external light incident on the active layer 331 may be disposedbetween the buffer layer 302 and the active layer 331.

The gate insulating layer 336 may be disposed on the active layer 331.In an exemplary embodiment, the gate insulating layer 336 may include aninorganic layer, for example, a silicon oxide layer (SiOx), a siliconnitride layer (SiNx), or a multilayer thereof.

The gate electrode 332 and a gate line may be disposed on the gateinsulating layer 336. In an exemplary embodiment, the gate electrode 332and the gate line may include a single layer or multiple layers of oneof molybdenum (Mo), aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), gold (Au), titanium(Ti), nickel (Ni), neodymium (Nd) and copper (Cu) or an alloy thereof.

The interlayer dielectric layer 337 may be disposed over the gateelectrode 332 and the gate line. In an exemplary embodiment, theinterlayer dielectric layer 337 may include an inorganic layer, forexample, a silicon oxide layer (SiOx), a silicon nitride layer (SiNx),or a multilayer thereof.

The source electrode 333, the drain electrode 334 and a data line may bedisposed on the interlayer dielectric layer 337. Each of the sourceelectrode 333 and the drain electrode 334 may be connected to the activelayer 331 through a contact hole penetrating the gate insulating layer336 and the interlayer dielectric layer 337. In an exemplary embodiment,the source electrode 333, the drain electrode 334 and the data line mayinclude a single layer or multiple layers of one of molybdenum (Mo),aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), gold (Au), titanium (Ti), nickel (Ni),neodymium (Nd) and copper (Cu) or an alloy thereof.

The protective layer 338 may be disposed on the source electrode 333,the drain electrode 334, and the data line in order to insulate the TFTs335. In an exemplary embodiment, the protective layer 338 may include aninorganic layer, e.g., a silicon oxide layer (SiOx), a silicon nitridelayer (SiNx), or a multilayer thereof.

The planarization layer 339 may be disposed on the protective layer 338to provide a flat surface over the step differences of the TFTs 335. Theplanarization layer 339 may include an organic layer such as an acrylresin, an epoxy resin, a phenolic resin, a polyamide resin and apolyimide resin.

The light-emitting element layer 304 is disposed above the TFTs 335. Thelight-emitting element layer 304 includes the light-emitting elementsand banks 344.

The light-emitting elements and the banks 344 are disposed on theplanarization layer 339. An organic light-emitting device including ananode electrode 341, emissive layers 342 and a cathode electrode 343 isemployed as an exemplary embodiment of the light-emitting elements.

The anode electrode 341 may be disposed on the planarization layer 339.The anode electrode 341 may be connected to the source electrode 333 ofthe respective thin-film transistor 335 through a contact holepenetrating the protective layer 338 and the planarization layer 339.

The banks 344 may cover the edge of the anode electrode 341 on theplanarization layer 339 in order to separate the pixels from oneanother. That is to say, the banks 344 serves as a layer for definingthe pixels PX. In each of the pixels PX, the anode electrode 341, theemissive layer 342 and the cathode electrode 343 are sequentiallystacked on one another so that holes from the anode electrode 341 andelectrons from the cathode electrode 343 combine in the emissive layer342 to emit light.

The emissive layers 342 are disposed on the anode electrode 341 and thebanks 344. The emissive layers 342 may be organic emissive layers. In anexemplary embodiment, the emissive layer 342 may emit one of red light,green light, and blue light, for example. In an alternative exemplaryembodiment, the emissive layer 342 may be a white emissive layer thatemits white light. In such case, the red emissive layer, the greenemissive layer and the blue emissive layer may be stacked on one anotheror may be provided commonly across the pixels PX as a common layer. Insuch case, the display panel 300 may further include additional colorfilters for representing red, green and blue colors.

The emissive layer 342 may include a hole transporting layer, alight-emitting layer, and an electron transporting layer. In addition,the emissive layer 342 may be provided in a tandem structure of two ormore stacks, in which case a charge generating layer may be disposedbetween the stacks.

The cathode electrode 343 is disposed on the emissive layer 342. Thecathode electrode 343 may be provided to cover the emissive layer 342.The cathode electrode 343 may be a common layer provided across thepixels PX.

In an exemplary embodiment, when the light-emitting element layer 304 isof a top-emission type in which light exits toward the upper side, theanode electrode 341 may include a metal material having a highreflectivity such as a stack structure of aluminum and titanium(Ti/Al/Ti), a stack structure of aluminum and ITO (“ITO/Al/ITO”), an APCalloy and a stack structure of APC alloy and ITO (“ITO/APC/ITO”). TheAPC alloy is an alloy of silver (Ag), palladium (Pd) and copper (Cu).The cathode electrode 343 may include a transparent conductive material(“TCP”) such as ITO and IZO that may transmit light, or asemi-transmissive conductive material such as magnesium (Mg), silver(Ag) and an alloy of magnesium (Mg) and silver (Ag). When the cathodeelectrode 343 includes a semi-transmissive conductive material, thelight extraction efficiency may be increased by microcavities.

In an exemplary embodiment, when the light-emitting element layer 304 isof a bottom-emission type in which light exits toward the lower side,the anode electrode 341 may include a TCP such as ITO and IZO that maytransmit light, or a semi-transmissive conductive material such asmagnesium (Mg), silver (Ag) and an alloy of magnesium (Mg) and silver(Ag). The cathode electrode 343 may include a metal material having ahigh reflectivity such as a stack structure of aluminum and titanium(Ti/Al/Ti), a stack structure of ITO/Al/ITO, an APC alloy and a stackstructure of ITO/APC/ITO. When the anode electrode 341 includes asemi-transmissive conductive material, the light extraction efficiencymay be increased by microcavities.

The thin-film encapsulation layer 305 is disposed on the light-emittingelement layer 304. The thin-film encapsulation layer 305 serves toprevent permeation of oxygen or moisture into the emissive layer 342 andthe cathode electrode 343. To this end, the thin-film encapsulationlayer 305 may include at least one inorganic layer. In an exemplaryembodiment, the inorganic layer may include silicon nitride, aluminumnitride, zirconium nitride, titanium nitride, hafnium nitride, tantalumnitride, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, or titanium oxide, for example.Further, the thin-film encapsulation layer 305 may further include atleast one organic layer. The organic layer may have a sufficientthickness to prevent particles from permeating into the thin-filmencapsulation layer 305 to enter the emissive layer 342 and the cathodeelectrode 343. In an exemplary embodiment, the organic layer may includeat least one of epoxy, acrylate, urethane acrylate, polyamide, andpolyimide resin.

The touch sensing layer TSL may be disposed on the thin-filmencapsulation layer 305. When the touch sensing layer TSL is disposeddirectly on the thin-film encapsulation layer 305, the thickness of thedisplay device 10 may be reduced, compared with a display device inwhich a separate touch panel is attached on the thin-film encapsulationlayer 305.

The touch sensing layer TSL may include sensor electrodes TE for sensinga user's touch by capacitive sensing, and touch lines for connecting thepads with the sensor electrodes TE. In an exemplary embodiment, thetouch sensing layer TSL may sense a user's touch by self-capacitancesensing method or mutual capacitance sensing method. In FIG. 6, it isexampled that the touch sensing layer TSL senses a user's touch bymutual capacitance sensing method.

A first sensing insulator TINS' may be disposed on the thin-filmencapsulation layer 305. In an exemplary embodiment, the first sensinginsulator TINS' may include an inorganic layer, for example, a siliconoxide layer (SiOx), a silicon nitride layer (SiNx), or a multilayerthereof. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the first sensinginsulator TINS1 may include an organic layer, for example, epoxy,acrylate, urethane acrylate, polyamide, and polyimide resin. Connectionelectrodes may be disposed between the thin-film encapsulation layer 305and the first sensing insulator TINS1.

The sensor electrodes TE may be disposed on the first sensing insulatorTINS′. The sensor electrodes TE may include a stack structure ofaluminum and titanium (Ti/Al/Ti), a stack structure of ITO/Al/ITO, anAPC alloy and a stack structure of ITO/APC/ITO.

A second sensing insulator TINS2 may be disposed on the sensorelectrodes TE. In an exemplary embodiment, the second sensing insulatorTINS2 may include an organic layer, for example, epoxy, acrylate,urethane acrylate, polyamide, and polyimide resin.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the first vibration device ofFIG. 5 in detail. FIG. 8 is a view showing an exemplary embodiment of away of vibrating a vibration layer disposed between a first branchelectrode and a second branch electrode of the second vibration deviceof FIG. 7.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the first vibration device 510 may be apiezoelectric element or a piezoelectric actuator which vibrates thedisplay panel 300 using a piezoelectric material that contracts orexpands according to the applied voltage. The first vibration device 510may include a vibration layer 511, a first electrode 512, and a secondelectrode 513.

The first electrode 512 may include a first stem electrode 5121 andfirst branch electrodes 5122. The first stem electrode 5121 may bedisposed at least on one side surface of the vibration layer 511 asshown in FIG. 7. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the first stemelectrode 5121 may penetrate a part of the vibration layer 511. Thefirst stem electrode 5121 may be disposed on the upper surface of thevibration layer 511. The first branch electrodes 5122 may branch offfrom the first stem electrode 5121. The first branch electrodes 5122 maybe arranged in parallel.

A second electrode 513 may include a second stem electrode 5131 andsecond branch electrodes 5132. The second electrode 513 may be disposedspaced apart from the first electrode 512. As a result, the secondelectrode 513 may be electrically insulated from the first electrode512. The second stem electrode 5131 may be disposed at least on a sidesurface of the vibration layer 511. In such instance, the first stemelectrode 5121 may be disposed on a first side of the vibration layer511 while the second stem electrode 5131 may be disposed on a secondside of the vibration layer 511. In an alternative exemplary embodiment,the second stem electrode 5131 may penetrate a part of the vibrationlayer 511. The second stem electrode 5131 may be disposed on the uppersurface of the vibration layer 511. The second branch electrodes 5132may branch off from the second stem electrode 5131. The second branchelectrodes 5132 may be arranged in parallel.

The first branch electrodes 5122 and the second branch electrodes 5132may be arranged in parallel to one another in the horizontal direction(X-axis direction or Y-axis direction). In addition, the first branchelectrodes 5122 and the second branch electrodes 5132 may be alternatelyarranged in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction). Specifically, inthe vertical direction (Z-axis direction), the first branch electrode5122 may be disposed, then the second branch electrode 5132 may bedisposed, then the first branch electrode 5122 may be disposed, and soon.

The first electrode 512 and the second electrode 513 may be connected tothe pads of the first flexible circuit board 570. The pads of the firstflexible circuit board 570 may be connected to the first electrode 512and the second electrode 513 exposed on one side of the first vibrationdevice 510.

The vibration layer 511 may be a piezoelectric element that is deformedaccording to a driving voltage applied to the first electrode 512 and adriving voltage applied to the second electrode 513. In such case, thevibration layer 511 may be one of a piezoelectric material such as apoly vinylidene fluoride (“PVDF”) film and a plumbum zirconate titanate(“PZT”) and an electroactive polymer.

Since the vibration layer 511 is produced at a high temperature, thefirst electrode 512 and the second electrode 513 may include silver (Ag)having a high melting point or an alloy of silver (Ag) and palladium(Pd). In order to increase the melting point of the first electrode 512and the second electrode 513, when the first electrode 512 and thesecond electrode 513 include an alloy of silver (Ag) and palladium (Pd),the content of silver (Ag) may be higher than the content of palladium(Pd).

The vibration layer 511 may be disposed in every space between the firstbranch electrodes 5122 and the second branch electrodes 5132. Thevibration layer 511 contracts or expands according to a differencebetween the driving voltage applied to the first branch electrodes 5122and the driving voltage applied to the second branch electrodes 5132.

When the polarity direction of the vibration layer 511 disposed betweenthe first branch electrode 5122 and the second branch electrode 5132disposed under the first branch electrode 5122 is upward direction (↑)as shown in FIG. 7, the vibration layer 511 may have a positive polarityin its upper portion adjacent to the first branch electrodes 5122 and anegative polarity in its lower portion adjacent to the second branchelectrodes 5132. In addition, when the polarity direction of thevibration layer 511 disposed between the second branch electrode 5132and the first branch electrode 5122 disposed under the second branchelectrode 5132 is downward direction (↓) the vibration layer 511 mayhave a negative polarity in its upper portion adjacent to the secondbranch electrode 5132 and a positive polarity in its lower portionadjacent to the first branch electrode 5122. The polarity direction ofthe vibration layer 511 may be determined by a poling process ofapplying an electric field to the vibration layer 511 using the firstbranch electrodes 5122 and the second branch electrodes 5132.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the polarity direction of the vibration layer511 disposed between the first branch electrode 5122 and the secondbranch electrode 5132 disposed under the first branch electrode 5122 isthe upward direction (↑) when the driving voltage having the positivepolarity is applied to the first branch electrode 5122 and the drivingvoltage having the negative polarity is applied to the second branchelectrode 5132, the vibration layer 511 may contract according to afirst force F1. The first force F1 may be a contractive force. Inaddition, when the driving voltage having the negative polarity isapplied to the first branch electrode 5122 and the driving voltagehaving the positive polarity is applied to the second branch electrode5132, the vibration layer 511 may expand according to a second force F2.The second force F2 may be an expanding force.

Similarly to FIG. 8, when the polarity direction of the vibration layer511 disposed between the second branch electrode 5132 and the firstbranch electrode 5122 disposed under the second branch electrode 5132 isthe downward direction (↓) when the 2A driving voltage having thepositive polarity is applied to the second branch electrode 5132 and the2B driving voltage having the negative polarity is applied to the firstbranch electrode 5122, the vibration layer 511 may expand according tothe expanding force. In addition, when the driving voltage having thenegative polarity is applied to the second branch electrode 5132 and thedriving voltage having the positive polarity is applied to the firstbranch electrode 5122, the vibration layer 511 may contract according toa contract force.

When the driving voltage applied to the first electrode 512 and thedriving voltage applied to the second electrode 513 have alternatelyrepeated positive and negative polarities, the vibration layer 511repeatedly contracts and expands. As a result, the first vibrationdevice 510 vibrates. Since the first vibration device 510 is disposed ona surface of the heat-dissipation film, when the vibration layer 511 ofthe first vibration device 510 contracts and expands, the display panel300 vibrates by the stress in the third direction (Z-axis direction),i.e., in the thickness direction. As such, the display panel 300vibrates by the first vibration device 510, so that the first sound maybe output.

A protective layer may be further disposed on the second surface andside surfaces of the first vibration device 510. The protective layermay include an insulating material, or may include the same material asthat of the vibration layer 511. The protective layer may be disposed onthe first electrode 512, the second electrode 513, and the vibrationlayer 511 exposed without being covered by the first electrode 512 andthe second electrode 513. The protective layer may be disposed on thefirst electrode 512, the second electrode 513, and the vibration layer511 exposed without being covered by the first electrode 512 and thesecond electrode 513. Therefore, the vibration layer 511, the firstelectrode 512 and the second electrode 513 of the first vibration device510 may be protected by the protective layer. In another exemplaryembodiment, the protective layer may be eliminated.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when thefirst vibration device 510 is a piezoelectric element or a piezoelectricactuator including a piezoelectric material, it includes no voice coil.Accordingly, compared with a linear resonant actuator (“LRA”) thatvibrates using a voice coil, there is an advantage that almost novibration remains after the application of the first and second drivingvoltages is finished. Therefore, it is possible to improve the qualityof a tactile feedback for a user in the haptic feedback.

FIG. 9 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention. FIG. 9 shows game situations and a method for providing ahaptic feedback according to a user's touch input when an applicationfor a car racing game is running on a display device. FIG. 10 is a viewshowing an exemplary embodiment of a screen of a display device where anapplication for providing the haptic feedback of FIG. 9 is running.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the display device 10 may provide a userwith different haptic feedbacks depending on the progress of theapplication and the user's touch input on the application, therebyincreasing the user's immersion into the application. When a countdownstarts in an application for a car racing game, the display device 10may vibrate the first vibration device 510 with the maximum amplitude of52 and the frequency of about 46 Hertz (Hz) for about 298 milliseconds(ms). In doing so, the first vibration device 510 may vibrate with theamplitude increasing four times and decreasing four times over theperiod of about 298 ms. The amplitude of the first vibration device 510may increase four times to the same level at the equal interval and maydecrease four times to the same level at the equal interval. Althoughthe number of times of increasing and decreasing the amplitude is fourin FIG. 9, the invention is not limited thereto. The number of times ofincreasing the amplitude may be N, and the number of times of decreasingthe amplitude may be M, where N and M are positive integers.

When a vehicle starts to travel in the application, the display device10 may vibrate the first vibration device 510 with the maximum amplitudeof 66 and the frequency of about 62 Hz for about 736 ms.

When a user touches a first acceleration icon AI1 in the application,the display device 10 may vibrate the first vibration device 510 withthe maximum amplitude of 60 and the frequency of about 203 Hz for about98 ms. In doing so, the first vibration device 510 may vibrate with theamplitude increasing three times over the period of about 98 ms. Indoing so, the amplitude of the first vibration device 510 may increasethree times to the same level at the equal interval. Although the numberof times of increasing the amplitude is three in FIG. 9, the inventionis not limited thereto. The number of times of increasing the amplitudemay be N.

When a user touches a second acceleration icon AI2 in the application,the display device 10 may vibrate the first vibration device 510 withthe maximum amplitude of 60 and the frequency of 203 Hz for about 201ms. When the user touches the second acceleration icon AI2, thevibration period of the first vibration device 510 may be longer thanwhen the first acceleration icon AI1 is touched. In the example shown inFIG. 9, the frequency and the maximum amplitude of the first vibrationdevice 510 when the user touches the first acceleration icon AI1 areequal to those of the first vibration device 510 when the user touchesthe second acceleration icon AI2. It is, however, to be understood thatthe invention is not limited thereto. The frequency and the maximumamplitude of the first vibration device 510 when the user touches thefirst acceleration icon AI1 may be different from those of the firstvibration device 510 when the user touches the second acceleration iconAI2. In such case, the first vibration device 510 may vibrate with theamplitude increasing five times over the period of about 201 ms. Indoing so, the amplitude of the first vibration device 510 may increasefive times to the same level at the equal interval.

When a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object in theapplication, the display device 10 may vibrate the first vibrationdevice 510 with the maximum amplitude of 50 and the frequency of 148 Hzfor about 47 ms. In doing so, the first vibration device 510 may vibratewith the amplitude increasing once and decreasing once over the periodof about 47 ms. The amplitude of the first vibration device 510 mayincrease once to the same level at the equal interval and may decreaseonce to the same level at the equal interval. Although the number oftimes of increasing and decreasing the amplitude is one in FIG. 9, theinvention is not limited thereto. The number of times of increasing theamplitude may be N while the number of times of decreasing the amplitudemay be M.

When a vehicle drifts in the application, the display device 10 mayvibrate the first vibration device 510 with the maximum amplitude of 52and the frequency of 46 Hz for about 725 ms. In doing so, the firstvibration device 510 may vibrate with the amplitude increasing once anddecreasing once over the period of about 725 ms. The amplitude of thefirst vibration device 510 may increase once to the same level at theequal interval and may decrease once to the same level at the equalinterval. Although the number of times of increasing and decreasing theamplitude is one in FIG. 9, the invention is not limited thereto. Thenumber of times of increasing the amplitude may be N while the number oftimes of decreasing the amplitude may be M.

When a vehicle stops traveling in the application, the display device 10may vibrate the first vibration device 510 with the maximum amplitude of59 and the frequency of about 15 Hz for about 2,500 ms.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when theuser performs a first touch input, i.e., the user touches the firstacceleration icon AIL the display device 10 may generate a firstvibration using the first vibration device 510 to provide a first hapticfeedback. In addition, when the user performs a second touch input,i.e., the user touches the second acceleration icon AI2, the displaydevice 10 may generate a second vibration using the first vibrationdevice 510 to provide a second haptic feedback. In an exemplaryembodiment, the period of the second vibration may be longer than theperiod of the first vibration as shown in FIG. 9, for example. In suchcase, the user may feel that the vibration lasts longer when the userperforms the second touch input, i.e., the user touches the secondacceleration icon AI2 than when the user performs the first touch input,i.e., the user touches the first acceleration icon AI1. In addition, inthe application, the user may feel that the effect of the accelerationexecuted by touching the second acceleration icon AI2 is higher than theeffect of the acceleration executed by touching the first accelerationicon AI1.

In example shown in FIG. 9, the period of the first vibration isdifferent from the period of the second vibration, and the amplitude ofthe frequency of the first vibration is equal to the amplitude of thesecond vibration. It is, however, to be understood that the invention isnot limited thereto. In an exemplary embodiment, the frequency,amplitude and period of the first vibration may be different from thefrequency, amplitude and period of the second vibration, respectively,for example. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the frequency andamplitude of the first vibration may be different from the frequency andamplitude of the second vibration, respectively. In an alternativeexemplary embodiment, the frequency and the period of the firstvibration may be different from the frequency and period of the secondvibration, respectively. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, theamplitude and the period of the first vibration may be different fromthe amplitude and period of the second vibration, respectively. In analternative exemplary embodiment, the frequency of the first vibrationmay be different from the frequency of the second vibration. In analternative exemplary embodiment, the amplitude of the first vibrationmay be different from the amplitude of the second vibration.

As described above, the user may feel that the first vibration and thesecond vibration are different due to a change in at least one offrequency, amplitude and period of the vibration.

FIG. 11 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention. FIG. 11 shows a method for providing a haptic feedbackaccording to a user's touch input when an application for a pianokeyboard is running on a display device. FIG. 12 is a view showing anexemplary embodiment of a screen of the display device where theapplication for providing the haptic feedback of FIG. 11 is executed.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the display device 10 may provide a userwith different haptic feedbacks according to the user's touch input inthe application, thereby increasing the user's immersion into theapplication.

When the user touches a single key in the piano keyboard application,the display device 10 may vibrate the first vibration device 510 withthe maximum amplitude of 26 and the frequency of about 78 Hz for about153 ms. When the user touches two keys simultaneously in the pianokeyboard application, the display device 10 may vibrate the firstvibration device 510 with the maximum amplitude of 32 and the frequencyof about 109 Hz for about 109 ms. When the user touches three keyssimultaneously in the piano keyboard application, the display device 10may vibrate the first vibration device 510 with the maximum amplitude of45 and the frequency of about 125 Hz for about 96 ms.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, when theuser performs a single touch input, i.e., the user touches a single keyon the piano keyboard, the display device 10 may generate a firstvibration using the first vibration device 510 to provide a first hapticfeedback. In addition, when the user performs a multi-touch input, i.e.,the user touches two keys on the piano keyboard simultaneously, thedisplay device 10 may generate a second vibration using the firstvibration device 510 to provide a second haptic feedback. In anexemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the frequency of the secondvibration may be higher than the frequency of the first vibration, andthe amplitude of the second vibration may be larger than the amplitudeof the first vibration, for example. In such case, when the userperforms a second touch input, i.e., the user touches two keys on thepiano keyboard simultaneously, the user may feel a stronger vibrationthan when the user performs the first touch input, i.e., the usertouches a single key on the piano keyboard.

Moreover, when the user performs a multi-touch input, i.e., the usertouches three keys on the piano keyboard simultaneously, the displaydevice 10 may generate a third vibration using the first vibrationdevice 510 to provide a third haptic feedback. In an exemplaryembodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the frequency of the third vibrationmay be higher than the frequency of the second vibration, and theamplitude of the third vibration may be larger than the amplitude of thesecond vibration, for example. In such case, when the user performs athird touch input, i.e., the user touches three keys simultaneously, theuser may feel a stronger vibration than when the user performs thesecond touch input, i.e., the user touches two keys on the pianokeyboard.

In the example shown in FIG. 11, the period of the first vibration islonger than the period of the second vibration, and the period of thesecond vibration is longer than the period of the third vibration. Itis, however, to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto.In an exemplary embodiment, the period of the first vibration may beshorter than the period of the second vibration, and the period of thesecond vibration may be shorter than the period of the third vibration,for example.

As described above, the user may feel that the first vibration, thesecond vibration and the third vibration are different from one anotherdue to a change in at least one of frequency, amplitude and period ofthe vibration.

FIG. 13 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention. FIG. 13 shows a method for providing a haptic feedbackaccording to a user's touch input when a memo application is running ona display device. FIG. 14 is a view showing an exemplary embodiment of ascreen of the display device where the application for providing thehaptic feedback of FIG. 13 is executed.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the display device 10 may provide a userwith different haptic feedbacks according to the user's touch input inthe application, thereby increasing the user's immersion into theapplication.

When the user touches a pencil icon PI1 in the memo application, thedisplay device 10 may vibrate the first vibration device 510 with themaximum amplitude of 10 and the frequency of about 218 Hz for about 18ms. When the user touches a pen icon PI2 in the memo application, thedisplay device 10 may vibrate the first vibration device 510 with themaximum amplitude of 23 and the frequency of about 203 Hz for about 19ms. When the user touches an eraser EI in the memo application, thedisplay device 10 may vibrate the first vibration device 510 with themaximum amplitude of 36 and the frequency of about 78 Hz for about 51ms.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, when theuser performs a single touch input, i.e., the user touches the pencilicon PI1, the display device 10 may generate a first vibration using thefirst vibration device 510 to provide a first haptic feedback. Inaddition, when the user performs a second touch input, i.e., the usertouches the pen icon PI2, the display device 10 may generate a secondvibration using the first vibration device 510 to provide a secondhaptic feedback. Moreover, when the user performs a third touch input,i.e., the user touches the eraser EI, the display device 10 may generatea third vibration using the first vibration device 510 to provide athird haptic feedback. The frequency, amplitude and period of the firstvibration, the frequency, amplitude and period of the second vibration,and the frequency, amplitude and period of the third vibration may bedifferent from one another.

As described above, the user may feel that the first vibration, thesecond vibration and the third vibration are different from one anotherdue to a change in at least one of frequency, amplitude and period ofthe vibration.

FIG. 15 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention. FIG. 15 shows a method for providing a haptic feedbackaccording to a user's touch input when a keyboard application is runningon a display device. FIG. 16 is a view showing an exemplary embodimentof a screen of a display device where an application for providing thehaptic feedback of FIG. 15 is running.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, the display device 10 may provide a userwith different haptic feedbacks according to the user's touch input inthe application, thereby increasing the user's immersion into theapplication.

When the user touches an enter key EK or a space key SK in the keyboardapplication, the display device 10 may vibrate the first vibrationdevice 510 with the maximum amplitude of 97 and the frequency of about148 Hz for about 26 ms. When the user touches a letter key LK or anumber key NK in the keyboard application, the display device 10 mayvibrate the first vibration device 510 with the maximum amplitude of 84and the frequency of about 156 Hz for about 6 ms.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, when theuser performs a first touch input, i.e., the user touches the enter keyEK or the space key SK, the display device 10 may generate a firstvibration using the first vibration device 510 to provide a first hapticfeedback. In addition, when the user performs a second touch input,i.e., the user touches the letter key LK or the number key NK, thedisplay device 10 may generate a second vibration using the firstvibration device 510 to provide a second haptic feedback. The frequency,amplitude and period of the first vibration may be different from thefrequency, amplitude and period of the second vibration, respectively.

As described above, the user may feel that the first vibration and thesecond vibration are different due to a change in at least one offrequency, amplitude and period of the vibration.

FIG. 17 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention. FIG. 17 shows a method for providing a haptic feedbackaccording to a user's touch input when a configuration applicationincluding volume control, brightness control, color control and zoomcontrol is running on a display device. FIG. 18 is a view showing anexemplary embodiment of a screen of a display device where anapplication for providing the haptic feedback of FIG. 17 is running.

Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, the display device 10 may provide a userwith different haptic feedbacks according to the user's touch input inthe application, thereby increasing the user's immersion into theapplication.

The configuration application running on the display device 10 allows auser to turn the volume up or down by dragging the volume slider whilethe first vibration device 510 vibrates as the user adjusts the volume.In an exemplary embodiment, the period of vibration of the firstvibration device 510 may range from about 10 to about 25 ms, forexample, the maximum amplitude may range from 10 to 60, and thefrequency may range from 78 to 195 Hz.

The configuration application running on the display device 10 allows auser to increase or decrease the brightness by dragging the brightnessslider while the first vibration device 510 vibrates as the user adjuststhe brightness. In an exemplary embodiment, the period of vibration ofthe first vibration device about 510 may be about 18 ms, for example,the maximum amplitude may range from 15 to 85, and the frequency may be109 Hz.

The configuration application running on the display device 10 allows auser to change the color by dragging the color slider while the firstvibration device 510 vibrates as the user adjusts the color. In anexemplary embodiment, the period of vibration of the first vibrationdevice 510 may be 12 ms, for example, the maximum amplitude may rangefrom 15 to 85, and the frequency may range from about 78 to about 156Hz.

The configuration application running on the display device 10 allows auser to zoom in or out the image by dragging the zoom slider while thefirst vibration device 510 vibrates as the user adjusts the zoom. In anexemplary embodiment, the period of vibration of the first vibrationdevice about 510 may be about 16 ms, for example, the maximum amplitudemay range from 15 to 40, and the frequency may be 125 Hz.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, when theuser performs a first touch input, i.e., the user drags the volumeslider, the display device 10 may generate a first vibration using thefirst vibration device 510 to provide a first haptic feedback. Inaddition, when the user performs a second touch input, i.e., the userdrags the brightness slider, the display device 10 may generate a secondvibration using the first vibration device 510 to provide a secondhaptic feedback. Moreover, when the user performs a third touch input,i.e., the user drags the color slider, the display device 10 maygenerate a third vibration using the first vibration device 510 toprovide a third haptic feedback.

Moreover, when the user drags a fourth touch input, i.e., the user dragsthe zoom slider, the display device 10 may generate a fourth vibrationusing the first vibration device 510 to provide a fourth hapticfeedback. The frequency, amplitude and period of the first vibration,the frequency, amplitude and period of the second vibration, thefrequency, amplitude and period of the third vibration, and thefrequency, amplitude and period of time of the fourth vibration may bedifferent from one another.

As described above, the user may feel that the first vibration, thesecond vibration, the third vibration and the fourth vibration aredifferent from one another due to a change in at least one of frequency,amplitude and period of the vibration.

FIG. 19 is a table showing an exemplary embodiment of a method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device according to theinvention. FIG. 19 shows a method for providing a haptic feedbackaccording to a user's touch input when an image edition application isrunning on a display device. FIG. 20 is a view showing an exemplaryembodiment of a screen of a display device where an application forproviding the haptic feedback of FIG. 19 is running.

Referring to FIGS. 19 and 20, the display device 10 may provide a userwith different haptic feedbacks according to the user's touch input inthe application, thereby increasing the user's immersion into theapplication.

When a user touches the screen with two fingers and spread the fingersto magnify an image in the image edition application, the display device10 may vibrate the first vibration device 510 with the maximum amplitudeof 66 and the frequency of about 195 Hz for about 10 ms. When a usertouches the screen with two fingers and pinch the fingers together toreduce an image in the image edition application, the display device 10may vibrate the first vibration device 510 with the maximum amplitude of60 and the frequency of about 125 Hz for about 16 ms.

In addition, when a user drags an image toward the upper side in theimage edition application, the display device 10 may vibrate the firstvibration device 510 with the maximum amplitude of 34 and the frequencyof about 125 Hz for about 144 ms. In doing so, the first vibrationdevice 510 may vibrate with the amplitude increasing over the period ofabout 128 ms for about 144 ms. In addition, when a user drags an imagetoward the lower side in the image edition application, the displaydevice 10 may vibrate the first vibration device 510 with the maximumamplitude of 34 and the frequency of about 125 Hz for about 144 ms. Indoing so, the first vibration device 510 may vibrate with the amplitudedecreasing over the period of about 124 ms for about 144 ms. Accordingto the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, when the userperforms a first touch input, i.e., the user spreads two fingers tomagnify an image, the display device 10 may generate a first vibrationusing the first vibration device 510 to provide a first haptic feedback.In addition, when the user performs a second touch input, i.e., the userpinches two fingers to reduce an image, the display device 10 maygenerate a second vibration using the first vibration device 510 toprovide a second haptic feedback. Moreover, when the user performs athird touch input, i.e., the user drags an image toward the upper side,the display device 10 may generate a third vibration using the firstvibration device 510 to provide a third haptic feedback. Moreover, whenthe user drags a fourth touch input, i.e., the user drags an imagetoward the lower side, the display device 10 may generate a fourthvibration using the first vibration device 510 to provide a fourthhaptic feedback. The frequency, amplitude and period of the firstvibration, the frequency, amplitude and period of the second vibration,the frequency, amplitude and period of the third vibration, and thefrequency, amplitude and period of time of the fourth vibration may bedifferent from one another.

As described above, the user may feel that the first vibration, thesecond vibration, the third vibration and the fourth vibration aredifferent from one another due to a change in at least one of frequency,amplitude and period of the vibration.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for illustrating an exemplary embodiment of ahaptic mode and a sound mode of a display device according to theinvention.

Referring to FIG. 21, the display device 10 may provide a hapticfeedback in a haptic mode and may output a sound in a sound mode usingthe vibration device 510.

Firstly, the main processor 710 may output operation information to thememory 740 which is to be executed by a user's touch input or proximityinput and may receive vibration data associated with the operationinformation from the memory 740 in the haptic mode. The main processor710 may output the vibration data to the vibration driver 340 in thehaptic mode.

The vibration driver 340 may generate a 1A driving voltage and a 2Adriving voltage according to the vibration data in the haptic mode. Inan exemplary embodiment, the vibration driver 340 may include a digitalsignal processor (“DSP”) for processing the vibration data, which is adigital signal, a digital-analog converter (“DAC”) for converting thevibration data output from the digital signal processor into the 1Adriving voltage and the 1B driving voltage in the form of analog signal,and an amplifier (“AMP”) for amplifying the 1A driving voltage and the1B driving voltage to output them. The vibration driver 340 may outputthe 1A driving voltage and the 2A driving voltage to the first vibrationdevice 510 (operations S101 and S102 of FIG. 21).

Secondly, the first vibration device 510 provides a haptic feedback inthe haptic mode by vibrating according to the 1A driving voltage and the2A driving voltage. Since the first vibration device 510 is attached tothe display panel 300, the display panel 300 may vibrate by thevibration of the first vibration device 510. The frequency of thevibration of the first vibration device 510 may vary depending on thealternating frequency of the 1A driving voltage and the 2A drivingvoltage. The amplitude thereof may vary depending on the magnitude ofthe 1A driving voltage and the 2A driving voltage. The period thereofmay vary depending on the 1A driving voltage and the 2A driving voltage.The vibration of the first vibration device 510 may vary by adjustingthe frequency, amplitude and period according to the 1A driving voltageand the 2A driving voltage (operation S103 of FIG. 21).

Thirdly, the main processor 710 receives sound source data from anexternal device in the sound mode. The main processor 710 may generatesound data for generating first and second driving voltages to drive thevibration device 510 based on the sound source data in the sound mode.In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the main processor 710 mayoutput the frequency information of the sound source data in the soundmode to the memory 740, and may receive the sound data corresponding tothe frequency information of the sound source data from the memory 740.The main processor 710 may output sound data to the vibration driver 340in the sound mode. While the vibration data may include data of apredetermined frequency, the sound data may include data of a pluralityof frequencies.

The vibration driver 340 may generate a 1B driving voltage and a 2Bdriving voltage according to the sound data in the sound mode. Thevibration driver 340 may output the 1B driving voltage and the 2Bdriving voltage to the first vibration device 510 (operations S104 andS105 of FIG. 21).

Fourthly, the first vibration device 510 outputs sound by vibratingaccording to the 1B driving voltage and the 2B driving voltage in thesound mode. Since the first vibration device 510 is attached to thedisplay panel 300, the display panel 300 may vibrate by the vibration ofthe first vibration device 510. That is to say, the display panel 300may be used as a vibrating plane for outputting sound (operation S106 ofFIG. 21).

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 21, the displaydevice 10 may provide a haptic feedback in the haptic mode and mayoutput a sound in the sound mode using the vibration device 510.

In addition, the display device 10 may simultaneously execute the soundmode and the haptic mode using the first vibration device 510. In suchcase, the main processor 710 may output summation data obtained bysumming the sound data and the vibration data to the vibration driver340. The vibration driver 340 may generate summation driving voltagesaccording to the summation data, to output them to the first vibrationdevice 510. The first vibration device 510 may vibrate according to thesummation driving voltages to simultaneously provide a sound and ahaptic feedback to the user.

FIG. 22 is a bottom view showing an exemplary embodiment of the displaypanel attached to the cover window of FIG. 2.

The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 22 is different from theexemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B in that a second vibrationdevice 520 is disposed on a surface of the display panel 300. Theelements of FIG. 22 identical to those of FIGS. 3A and 3B will not bedescribed to avoid redundancy.

Referring to FIG. 22, the second vibration device 520 may be attached toa surface of the display panel 300 using an adhesive member 610 such asa pressure-sensitive adhesive. When the cover panel member 400 isdisposed on the surface of the display panel 300, the second vibrationdevice 520 may be attached to the cover panel member 400 through theadhesive member 610.

The second vibration device 520 may be a piezoelectric element or apiezoelectric actuator including a piezoelectric material that contractsor expands according to a voltage applied thereto. Although the secondvibration device 520 has a cuboid shape in FIG. 22, the invention is notlimited thereto. The first vibration device 510 may be disposed adjacentto the upper side of the display panel 300, while the second vibrationdevice 520 may be disposed adjacent to the lower side of the displaypanel 300.

A third connector 317 may be disposed on the surface of the displaycircuit board 310. The third connector 317 may include an insertionportion connected to a connection terminal disposed at one end of thesecond flexible circuit board 580.

The connection terminal provided at one end of the second flexiblecircuit board 580 may be inserted into the insertion portion of thethird connector 317. The other end of the second flexible circuit board580 may be connected to the second vibration device 520. In an exemplaryembodiment, the second flexible circuit board 580 may be an FPCB or anFPC, for example.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 22, it is possibleto output the haptic feedback and sound using the second vibe device 520as well as the first vibration device 510. Therefore, it is possible toprevent provide the haptic feedback by the first vibration device 510and the second vibration device 520 as shown in FIG. 23.

Firstly, when a single touch input is sensed, the display device 10 maydisplay a haptic feedback using one of the first vibration device 510and the second vibration device 520 that is closer to touch coordinatesof the single touch input (operations S201 to S204 in FIG. 24).

Specifically, when a single touch input is sensed, the main processor710 determines which one of the first vibration device 510 and thesecond vibration device 520 is closer to the touch coordinates andselects the closer one. The main processor 710 may output operationinformation to the memory 740 which is to be executed by a user's touchinput or proximity input and may receive vibration data corresponding tothe operation information from the memory 740. The main processor 710may output the vibration data to the vibration driver 340.

The vibration driver 340 may generate a 1A driving voltage and a 2Adriving voltage according to the vibration data. The vibration driver340 may output the 1A driving voltage and the 2A driving voltage to theselected one of the first and second vibration devices 510 and 520.

In the haptic mode, the selected vibration device vibrates according tothe 1A driving voltage and the 2A driving voltage to provide a hapticfeedback. As the haptic feedback is provided from the vibration devicecloser to the user's touch coordinates, the quality of the tactilefeedback felt by the user may be further improved.

Secondly, when a multi-touch input is sensed which includes multipletouch inputs generating simultaneously, the display device 10 mayprovide a first haptic feedback using the first vibration device 510 aswell as a second haptic feedback using the second vibration device 520(operations S205 to S208 of FIG. 24).

Specifically, when a multi-touch input is sensed, the main processor 710may output first operation information to the memory 740 which is to beexecuted by a user's first touch input or first proximity input and mayreceive vibration data corresponding to the first operation informationfrom the memory 740. The main processor 710 may output second operationinformation to the memory 740 which is to be executed by a user's secondtouch input or second proximity input and may receive vibration dataassociated with the second operation information from the memory 740 inthe haptic mode. In the haptic mode, the main processor 710 may outputthe vibration data corresponding to the first operation information tothe vibration driver 340 and may output the vibration data correspondingto the second operation information to the second vibration data to thevibration driver 340.

The vibration driver 340 may generate the 1A driving voltage and the 2Adriving voltage according to the first vibration data and may generatethe 1B driving voltage and the 2B driving voltage according to thesecond vibration data. The vibration driver 340 outputs the 1A drivingvoltage and the 2A driving voltage to the first vibration device 510 andoutputs the 1B driving voltage and the 2B driving voltage to the secondvibration device 520.

The main processor 710 may determine which one of the first vibrationdevice 510 and the second vibration device 520 is closer to the firsttouch coordinates associated with the first touch input or the firstproximity input and the second touch coordinates associated with thesecond touch input or the second proximity input. Accordingly, thevibration driver 340 may output the 1A driving voltage and the 2Adriving voltage according to the first vibration data to the vibrationdevice closer to the first touch coordinates, and may output the 1Bdriving voltage and the 2B driving voltage according to the secondvibration data to the vibration device closer to the second touchcoordinates. In such case, since the first haptic feedback is providedby the vibration device closer to the first touch coordinates and thesecond haptic feedback is provided by the vibration device closer to thesecond touch coordinates, the quality of the tactile feedback felt bythe user may be further improved.

Thirdly, the display device 10 may output a mono sound using the firstvibration device 510 and the second vibration device 520 in a mono soundmode (operations S301 to S303 in FIG. 25).

Specifically, the main processor 710 receives sound source data from anexternal device in the mono sound mode. The main processor 710 maygenerate mono sound data for generating first and second drivingvoltages for driving the first vibration device 510 and the secondvibration device 520 based on the sound source data in the mono soundmode. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the main processor 710 mayoutput the frequency information of the sound source data in the monosound mode to the memory 740, and may receive the sound datacorresponding to the frequency information of the sound source data fromthe memory 740. The main processor 710 may output the mono sound data tothe vibration driver 340 in the mono sound mode.

The vibration driver 340 may generate a 1C driving voltage and a 2Cdriving voltage according to the mono sound data in the mono sound mode.The vibration driver 340 outputs the 1C driving voltage and the 2Cdriving voltage to the first vibration device 510 and the secondvibration device 520.

Each of the first vibration device 510 and the second vibration device520 outputs sound by vibrating according to the 1C driving voltage andthe 2C driving voltage in the mono sound mode. Since the first vibrationdevice 510 and the second vibration device 520 output the same sound,the display device 10 may output a mono sound.

Fourthly, the display device 10 may output a stereo sound using thefirst vibration device 510 and the second vibration device 520 in astereo sound mode (operations S304 to S306 in FIG. 25).

Specifically, the main processor 710 receives sound source dataincluding first stereo source data and second stereo source data from anexternal device in the stereo sound mode. The main processor 710 maygenerate first stereo sound data for generating the first and seconddriving voltages for driving the first vibration device 510 and secondstereo sound data for generating the first and second driving voltagesfor driving the second vibration device 510 based on the first stereosource data in the stereo sound mode.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the main processor 710 mayoutput the frequency information of the first stereo source data to thememory 740 and may receive the first stereo sound data associated withthe frequency information of the first stereo source data from thememory 740 in the stereo sound mode. The main processor 710 may outputthe frequency information of the second stereo source data to the memory740 and may receive the second stereo sound data associated with thefrequency information of the second stereo source data from the memory740 in the stereo sound mode.

The main processor 710 may output the first stereo sound data and thesecond stereo sound data to the vibration driver 340 in the stereo soundmode.

The vibration driver 340 may generate a 1D driving voltage and a 2Ddriving voltage in accordance with the first stereo sound data in thestereo sound mode. The vibration driver 340 outputs the 1D drivingvoltage and the 2D driving voltage to the first vibration device 510.

The vibration driver 340 may generate a 1E driving voltage and a 2Edriving voltage in accordance with the second stereo sound data in thestereo sound mode. The vibration driver 340 outputs the 1E drivingvoltage and the 2E driving voltage to the second vibration device 520.

In the stereo sound mode, the first vibration device 510 vibratesaccording to the 1D driving voltage and the 2D driving voltage to outputthe first stereo sound, and the second vibration device 520 vibratesaccording to a 1E driving voltage and a 2E driving voltage to output thesecond stereo sound.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 22, the displaydevice 10 may provide a haptic feedback in the haptic mode using thefirst vibration device 510 and the second vibration device 520, mayoutput a mono sound in mono sound mode, and may output a stereo sound inthe stereo sound mode.

The invention should not be construed as being limited to the exemplaryembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this invention will be thorough and complete and will fully conveythe concept of the invention to those skilled in the art.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scopeof the invention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device comprising: a display panel; atouch sensing layer which senses a touch input of a user; a firstvibration device which is disposed on a first surface of the displaypanel and generates vibration according to driving voltages, wherein thefirst vibration device generates a first vibration in response to theuser's first touch input of the user to provide a first haptic feedback.2. The display device of claim 1, wherein the first vibration devicegenerates a second vibration in response to a second touch input of theuser to provide a second haptic feedback, wherein the first vibration isdifferent from the second vibration.
 3. The display device of claim 2,wherein a first frequency of the first vibration is different from asecond frequency of the second vibration.
 4. The display device of claim2, wherein a first amplitude of the first vibration is different from asecond amplitude of the second vibration.
 5. The display device of claim2, wherein a first period of the first vibration is different from asecond period of the second vibration.
 6. The display device of claim 2,wherein when the second touch input is a multi-touch input, a secondfrequency of the second vibration is higher than a first frequency ofthe first vibration, and a second amplitude of the second vibration isgreater than a first amplitude of the first vibration.
 7. The displaydevice of claim 6, wherein the first vibration device generates a thirdvibration in response to a third touch input of the user to provide athird haptic feedback, wherein the third vibration is different from thefirst vibration and the second vibration.
 8. The display device of claim7, wherein when the second touch input comprises two touch inputs andthe third touch input comprises three touch inputs, a third frequency ofthe third vibration is higher than the second frequency of the secondvibration, and a third amplitude of the third vibration is greater thanthe second amplitude of the second vibration.
 9. The display device ofclaim 1, wherein an amplitude of the first vibration is increased Ntimes, wherein N is a positive integer.
 10. The display device of claim1, wherein an amplitude of the first vibration is increased N times anddecreased M times, wherein N and M are positive integers.
 11. Thedisplay device of claim 10, wherein N is equal to M.
 12. The displaydevice of claim 1, wherein an amplitude of the first vibration isdecreased M times, wherein M is a positive integer.
 13. The displaydevice of claim 1, wherein each of the driving voltages is a squarewave.
 14. The display device of claim 1, wherein the first vibrationdevice comprises: a first electrode to which a first driving voltage ofthe driving voltages is applied; a second electrode to which a seconddriving voltage of the driving voltages is applied; and a vibrationlayer between the first electrode and the second electrode and includinga piezoelectric material which contracts or expands according to thefirst driving voltage applied to the first electrode and the seconddriving voltage applied to the second electrode.
 15. A display devicecomprising: a display panel; a touch sensing layer which senses a touchinput of a user; a first vibration device which is disposed on a firstsurface of the display panel and generates vibration according todriving voltages; and a second vibration device which is disposed on thefirst surface of the display panel and generates vibration according tothe driving voltages, wherein the first vibration device is closer to afirst side of the display panel than the second vibration device is, andthe second vibration device is closer to a second side of the displaypanel than the first vibration device is, and wherein at least one ofthe first vibration device and the second vibration device generatesvibration in response to the touch input to provide a first hapticfeedback.
 16. The display device of claim 15, wherein the firstvibration device generates the vibration when the touch input is closerto the first vibration device than the second vibration device, andwherein the second vibration device generates the vibration when thetouch input is closer to the second vibration device than the firstvibration device.
 17. The display device of claim 15, wherein a monosound is output by the vibration of the first vibration device and thevibration of the second vibration device in a mono sound mode, andwherein a first stereo sound is output by the vibration of the firstvibration device, and a second stereo sound is output by the vibrationof the second vibration device in a stereo sound mode.
 18. A method forproviding a haptic feedback by a display device, the method comprising:generating a first vibration, by a first vibration device disposed on afirst surface of a display panel, in response to a first touch input ofa user sensed by a touch sensing layer; and generating a secondvibration, by the first vibration device, in response to a second touchinput of the user, wherein the first vibration is different from thesecond vibration.
 19. The method for claim 18, wherein a first frequencyof the first vibration is different from a second frequency of thesecond vibration.
 20. The method for claim 18, wherein a first amplitudeof the first vibration is different from a second amplitude of thesecond vibration.
 21. The method for claim 18, wherein a first period ofthe first vibration is different from a second period of the secondvibration.